The Cosmic Citizen

Please join us this Saturday for a very dynamic show with 7 guests who will tell us about The United Urantia Family Festival which will be held next summer over Jesus’ birthday fromAugust 20 to 24, 2013 at Yosemite Park in California. Our guests will be our esteemed colleagues, Charles Laurence Olivea, Mary Anne Brundage, Liz Craig, Jeffrey Wattles, Meredith Tenney, Ron Craig and Pato Banton! Please join us wherever you are at to be part of the Family Spirit that’s in the air!  Also, come visit us at The United Urantia Family Festival  (TUUFF 2013) which will allow us to be gathered altogether on our beloved Jesus Christ Michael’s birthday!

In preparation of our upcoming interview with PHYLLIS TICKLE we are replaying our original interview with her of 3 years ago. Phillys is the founding editor of the Religion Department of PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, the international journal of the book industry. She is frequently quoted in print sources like USA TODAY, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, NY TIMES as well as in electronic media like PBS, NPR, THE HALLMARK CHANNEL, and innumerable blogs and web sites. Tickle is an authority on religion in America and a much sought after lecturer on the subject. She is a founding member of The Canterbury Roundtable, and serves now, as she has in the past, on a number of advisory and corporate boards. A lay eucharistic minister and lector in the Episcopal Church, she is the mother of seven children and, with her physician-husband, makes her home on a small farm in Lucy, Tennessee. Phyllis Tickle is the author of more than two dozen books on the subject of religion in America, including The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why, The Words of Jesus: A Gospel of the Sayings of Our Lord and The Divine Hours, a series of manuals for observing fixed-hour prayer. Tickle is a senior fellow of the Cathedral College of Washington National Cathedral. For more in formation, go to www.phyllistickle.com or www.thegreatemergence.com Phyllis Tickle's Youtube introduction to The Great Emergence

This week we will discuss Jesus' amazing achievements in spiritual growth by age 20 and hopefully aspire to these spiritual growth milestones too, no matter how old we are. By age 20 Jesus had learned to: bear responsibility, carry on in the face of disappointment, bear up bravely when his plans were thwarted and his purposes temporarily defeated, be fair and just even in the face of injustice, adjust ideals of spiritual living to the practical demands of earthly existence, plan for the achievement of a higher and distant goal while toiling for the attainment of nearer and immediate goals of necessity, acquire the art of adjusting aspirations to the commonplace demands of the human occasion, master the technique of utilizing the energy of the spiritual drive to turn the mechanism of material achievement, live the heavenly life while continuing on with the earthly existence, depend upon the ultimate guidance of God while guiding and directing the children of his earth family, wrest victory from the very jaws of defeat and transform the difficulties of time into the triumphs of eternity!

This week is a repeat of our show with guest Steve McIntosh on his new book: Evolution's Purpose: An Integral Interpretation of the Scientific Store of Our Origins Does the science of evolution really prove that life, humanity, and the universe as a whole are meaningless accidents? On the contrary, science has increasingly shown how everything in the universe is subject to evolution. And as we come to see how evolution progresses, this reveals evolution's purpose-to grow toward ever-widening realizations of beauty, truth, and goodness. McIntosh argues that the purpose of evolution is not "intelligently designed" or otherwise externally controlled; rather, its purpose is being creatively and originally discerned through the choices of evolutionary creatures themselves. Without relying on any spiritual authorities, Steve shows how the scientific story of our origins is actually a profound and sacred teaching compatible with many forms of contemporary spirituality. www.stevemcintosh.com Steve is a leader in the integral philosophy movement and author of the books Evolution's Purpose, and Integral Consciousness and the Future of Evolution. He currently works as a Founding Partner of the new social policy foundation, The Institute for Cultural Evolution. In addition to this think tank, and his work in philosophy, McIntosh has had a variety of other successful careers, including founding the consumer products company Now & Zen, practicing law with one of America's largest firms, working as an executive with Celestial Seasonings Tea Company, and Olympic-class bicycle racing. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia Law School and the University of Southern California Business School. Steve was also the keynote speaker at the Urantia Book Fellowship's summer seminar.

This week on the Cosmic Citizen, in honor of the upcoming presidential election, we are exploring Paper 71, Development of the State. The Melchizedek who purportedly authored this paper, deals directly with the evolution of the state, democracy and representative government. The paper is fascinating, susinct and insightful.  For instance, consider these intriguing quotations from Paper 71 of the Urantia Book: "A moral society should aim to preserve the self-respect of its citizenry and afford every normal individual adequate opportunity for self-realization. Such a plan of social achievement would yield a cultural society of the highest order. Social evolution should be encouraged by governmental supervision which exercises a minimum of regulative control. That state is best which co-ordinates most while governing least." "Can an advanced society maintain that military preparedness which renders it secure from all attack by its war-loving neighbors without yielding to the temptation to employ this military strength in offensive operations against other peoples for purposes of selfish gain or national aggrandizement?" Please join us for a rousing discussion of these thought provoking teachings.      We h

This week we will be interviewing Shane Hipps, the Emergent Christian author and minister, about his new book, Selling Water by the River: A Book About the Life Jesus Promised and the Religion that Gets in the Way. (Jericho Books/Hachette Book Group, 2012). In Selling Water by the River, Shane reveals the true purpose of Jesus' life, apart from what Christianity has made it out to be. The book distinguishes Biblical truths about Jesus from the constraints of religious institutions  and reveals a shocking but welcome truth to readers, one that eternal life dwells within each of us, and is the only thing that can quench our innate thirst for happiness. "I am a Christian, and have been for 25 years," writes Hipps. "I've been a church leader for a decade. In these years of practicing and serving as a religious leader, I have come to believe that a big difference exists between the power and purpose of Jesus and the religion that bears his name." "The most overlooked aspect of the Good News is that we already have what we are looking for, and Jesus came to show us how to experience it."  Shane’s talks on technology and faith, preaching, and human development are available for download on his website, which also features hundreds of podcasts exploring leadership, culture, technology, and church.  In 2012 he was featured in the "Animate" film and curriculum series produced by Spark House. Learn more at shanehipps.com or follow him on Twitter @shanehipps.  Please join us!

This week returning guest Steve McIntosh will be discussing his new book: Evolution's Purpose: An Integral Interpretation of the Scientific Store of Our Origins Does the science of evolution really prove that life, humanity, and the universe as a whole are meaningless accidents? On the contrary, science has increasingly shown how everything in the universe is subject to evolution. And as we come to see how evolution progresses, this reveals evolution's purpose-to grow toward ever-widening realizations of beauty, truth, and goodness. McIntosh argues that the purpose of evolution is not "intelligently designed" or otherwise externally controlled; rather, its purpose is being creatively and originally discerned through the choices of evolutionary creatures themselves. Without relying on any spiritual authorities, Steve shows how the scientific story of our origins is actually a profound and sacred teaching compatible with many forms of contemporary spirituality.  www.stevemcintosh.com Steve is a leader in the integral philosophy movement and author of the books Evolution's Purpose, and Integral Consciousness and the Future of Evolution. He currently works as a Founding Partner of the new social policy foundation, The Institute for Cultural Evolution. In addition to this think tank, and his work in philosophy, McIntosh has had a variety of other successful careers, including founding the consumer products company Now & Zen, practicing law with one of America's largest firms, working as an executive with Celestial Seasonings Tea Company, and Olympic-class bicycle racing. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia Law School and the University of Southern California Business School.

This week returning guests Pato Banton and Ben Bowler join us to discess the U Day Festival, set to begin on the evening of  December 22nd, 2012. The event promotes the values of intercultural kinship, racial unity and spiritual fraternity. Set in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the U-Nite concert featuring Pato Banton will open the event on the evening of Dec. 22nd, and the U DAY multi-faith ceremony will take place the next morning. The intention is to ritually "mark" this moment in history as a significant awakening to a new mortal epoch - one where true internationalism is fostered and spiritual perspectives expand towards a global viewpoint. Pato Banton is a well known Reggae performer (from England) as well as an interfaith minister who facilitates prayer circles after his concerts. He is known internationally for his inspiring Reggae music.  Austrailian Ben Bowler (an Interfaith Activist) conducts interfaith immersion  programs like “Monk for a Month.” Working with Buddhists in Thailand and Muslims in Turkey, he helps Westerners to experience firsthand the faiths of other cultures.

Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, philosopher, mega church pastor, and public theologian. Named by Time Magazine as one of the 25 most influential people. FR. Richard Rohr calls him a spiritual genius. McLaren's writings include his acclaimed trilogy, A New Kind of Christian, also A Generous Orthodoxy, and more recently, Naked Spirituality. Brian joins us this week on The Cosmic Citizen to discuss his most Interfaith friendly book to date: Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha and Mohammed Cross the Road?Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World. "It is not merely our differences that divide us, but a profound similarity--the oppositional way in which we build strong identities. It's an easy shortcut that takes us places we never intended to go." This paradigm shifting book speaks with clarity to both laymen and clergy. It reaches a place of understanding inside each of us to expand the boundaries of our faith relationships and communities. It is relevant to people of all faith traditions or no faith tradition. "I welcome this important contribution to showing the path through which all religions can become an emancipatory force for human liberation." Rabbi Michael Lerner Dr. McLaren doesn't shy away from the difficult topics and questions that plague clergy in today's changing faith scene. He takes the most confusing personal faith questions and answers them with light hearted reason. His keen insights allow one to deeply consider important issues of faith while not taking oneself too seriously.  His ability to open himself up to his readers reveals his humility and sincerity in his own struggles with truth seeking. Show time 10/06/12 at 10 AM Mountain time. Call in - 646.716.8158

"It will suck people out of any kind of boredom, bring them to the edge of their seats and get them ready for discussion." — Brian McLaren Tony Jones spoke with us Thursday (we will play the pre-recorded interview at the start of the show) giving us an overview of a new resource from Spark House called "Animate Faith." Animate Faith is a seven-session adult course designed to engage the faith-hungry person. It features speakers on the following topics: • Brian McLaren | God: Faith Is a Quest • Lillian Daniel | Religion: Spirituality Is Not Enough • Mark Scandrette | Jesus: Revolution of Love • Shane Hipps | Salvation: Abundant Life Now • Nadia Bolz-Weber | Cross: Where God Is • Lauren Winner | Bible: A Book Like No Other • Bruce Reyes-Chow | Church: An Imperfect Family The program is a very well calculated experiment in using great visual contemporary media in ministry and religious work to reach youth today. Each conversation jump starts a collaborative creative process. Animate Faith invites practitioners from across the country (and the globe) to develop new resources, whether they be In-person, or virtual. Whatever it takes to fulfill their mission.  Some of the above presenters will be will be live with us on the air, in coming weeks, and for this show. We hope that some who have experienced the series first hand will call in as well. Your calls and questions are also welcome at: 646.716.8158, the Tony Jones interview will pay in the first 40 minutes. Please join us!